Whenever she makes music in the company of colleagues, she does not require explanations for this or that way of doing things, Martha Argerich once explained. Instead, she prefers just to sit down and play. The musical accomplices she seeks out are thus those with whom she can work instinctively, almost navigating in the dark. Born in Riga, cellist Mischa Maisky is one of those chosen accomplices: Argerich and Maisky have been friends for decades. The two often perform as a duo, and they also love to share the stage with further chamber music partners – such as Gidon Kremer in January 2022 at the Ruhr Piano Festival. The Grand Dame of the piano simply loves to be surrounded with her “musical partners for life,” and Mischa Maisky has been part of that circle over the past forty years. Playing with him feels like “the most natural thing in the world,” she once said. And conversely, Maisky falls into raptures when referring to his colleague: “I have to admit that every time we meet, I fall in love once more with Martha, in the broadest sense of the word. It is absolutely unavoidable, and I think most people who meet her have the same experience.” And when Martha Argerich returns to make her 30th appearance at the Ruhr Piano Festival, we can once more fall in love with her great artistry!